With a record of 4-11-4 (12 points), the Stars are in a three-way tie with Tri-City and Fargo for sixth place in the USHL western conference.

With Chicago's 4-1 win over Des Moines last night, the Stars are tied with the Tri-City Storm for the lowest winning percentage (.316) in the USHL. The highest (Omaha with .810) and lowest winning percentages in the USHL belong within the borders of Nebraska. Click here to view the current USHL standings.

Des Moines comes into this game with a 6-12-1 (13 points) record which is good enough for fifth place in the USHL western conference. The Bucs are 1-4-0 in their last five games, with that one win coming against Lincoln.

Surprisingly, this will be the fourth time already this season that the Stars and Bucs will meet. Des Moines has a 2-1-0 record in those three previous contests. These same two teams will meet for the fifth time next Saturday night in Des Moines once again..

As I mentioned briefly above, the Buccaneers played Friday night in Chicago where they lost 4-1 to the Steel. I would assume the Bucs will be a little tired Saturday evening after making the 5 hour trip back to Des Moines late Friday night/early Saturday morning. Hopefully a well rested Stars team can take advantage of that.

Per the USHL.com transactions page, Stars defenseman Zach Frye has been suspended by the league, with the length of the suspension "to be determined." That's never a good sign when the league posts a "TBD" next to a suspension. I would assume a big one is coming up for Lincoln's co-captain. Frye missed the Wednesday home game against Sioux Falls. According to the page linked above, the suspension was due to an offense committed in the Waterloo game on 11/23.

I will not be watching this one on FASTHockey, but I will be listening to the radio broadcast.